They returned on Feb. 1, 2003. An investigation would later determine that tiles damaged during lift-off allowed super-heated atmospheric gasses to penetrate the shuttle's wing during re-entry, causing the ship to become unstable and quickly disintegrate. The crew was not told about any risk and didn't know something was wrong until very late in re-entry, according to ABC News.

The space shuttle broke apart during its return to Earth over Texas.

This time of year marks multiple somber anniversaries for NASA. The Apollo 1 fire that killed three was on Jan. 27, 1967. On Jan. 28, 1986, the Challenger space shuttle broke apart shortly after takeoff, killing all seven onboard.